The Nevada Appeal’s Silver Dollars & Wooden Nickels feature recognizes achievements from the capital region and, when warranted, points out other acts that missed the mark.SILVER DOLLAR: To the Carson City Sheriff’s Explorers, who returned home with seven trophies after a strong showing at the Chandler Tactical Competition in Arizona. Cody Schmidlin, 17, won third place in the obstacle course and Joshua Vansickle, 19, won fifth. The Explorers, as a team, won first in the high-risk warrant service, first in the five-man hostage-rescue team, third in the rapid-response exercise, third in the multi-level assault and fourth in the tactical emergency medical support competition.The group, open to everyone ages 14 to 21, meets weekly. The Explorers are recruiting new members; contact Explorer Capt. Ian Carl at icarl@carson.org for information. SILVER DOLLAR: To Stewie the Cat, who died last week in Reno. Stewie, the Guinness World Record holder as the world’s longest domestic cat, was a certified therapy animal.Stewie, who measured more than 4 feet, was a frequent visitor at Reno senior center.The Maine Coon, owned by Robin Hendrickson, was certified as the world’s longest in August 2010. SILVER DOLLAR & WOODEN NICKEL: A Silver Dollar to Assemblyman Steven Brooks for finally deciding to take a three-week leave of absence from the Legislature. However, Brooks receives a Wooden Nickel for asking for medical leave, then refusing to sign the required paperwork after leaders drafted it. He then said he was fine and ready to assume his legislative responsibilities. His antics were so bizarre that the Assembly Democrats ousted him from their caucus mid-week. Brooks was a distraction during the first week of the Legislature, wasting valuable time that could have been better spent shaping the state’s path to the future. Hopefully, Brooks can take the time he needs to get the physical and/or mental help he requires and can return to the Legislature in a productive manner.
